Death Stranding: Everything We Know About This PS4 Exclusive

Announced at E3 2016, Death Stranding is the first game from Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima after 2015’s Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain and a very public spat with that game’s publisher Konami. At E3 2018 we were treated to another trailer for the game. Featuring the talents of The Walking Dead’s Norman Reedus, former Bond villain Mads Mikkelsen and Pacific Rim director Guillermo del Toro, here’s what you can expect when the game is finally out.

Gameplay and multiplayerDeath Stranding is a third-person open-world game with survival and online elements inspired by the likes of The Division and Uncharted. While little is known of its online gameplay, Kojima spoke of his wish to give gamers a way to be connected via these “strands,” or elements that are different to the usual multiplayer teams. It features usable vehicles and a welcome level of customisation allowing you to tweak your clothing, equipment, and hairstyle to your liking. Dying in Death Stranding transports you to an area you explore in first-person (thanks to the unique abilities of the game’s protagonist Sam). This allows you to recover items and gear you may have lost on death. While most titles set you back to a point before dying, it borrows from the likes of Dark Souls by putting you back in the game world after your death.

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TimefallThere’s a weather system and environmental hazards such as timefall – a form of rain that makes whatever it hits age rapidly, and it makes a human body age and deteriorate in a matter of seconds. Furthermore, the E3 2018 trailer showed off that some gameplay choices involve the baby widely seen in past promotional material for the game, details of which are yet to be ascertained.

PS4 exclusivePrior to E3 2018 it was suggested that Death Stranding would be making it to the PC after a period of exclusivity on the PS4. However this is not the case. Death Stranding, much like God of War, Infamous Second Son, and Horizon Zero Dawn, will be on the PS4 alone. And speaking of Horizon Zero Dawn…

It uses the same tech as Horizon Zero DawnYes, Death Stranding will use the same engine that powered open-world action-adventure Horizon Zero Dawn. Kojima and Mark Cerny, lead system architect of the PS4, spent two weeks in January 2016 looking for a game engine on which to develop the game. At PSX 2017, Kojima revealed that Guerrilla Games were exceptionally open and trusting of him, gifting him the Decima source code on his first visit, a practise unheard of in the games industry.

Death Stranding castThe cast of Death Stranding consists of Hollywood talent such as Norman Reedus as the game’s protagonist, Sam Porter Bridges, Mads Mikkelsen as one of the game’s villains, and Guillermo del Toro. The E3 2018 trailer revealed the involvement of Lindsay Wagner and Lea Seydoux and previously it was announced that The Last of Us’ Troy Baker would be in the game too in a yet to be revealed role. The game will also have The Evil Within 2 actor Kyle Card as well Final Fantasy XIV and Dishonored: Death of the Outsider’s Emily O’Brien. That said, Norman Reedus is the only playable character and is immune to Timefall.

At the moment there’s no release date for Death Stranding. Though considering what we’ve seen of the game in its latest outing, it appears to be shaping up for launch soon enough.

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